Elvis Perkins in Dearland, at the Bowery Ballroom. libretto by Francesco Busenello, which tells the story of Aeneas and Dido, with a sci-fi slant. Elizabeth LeCompte directs. (St. Ann's Ware- house, 38 Water St., Brooklyn. 718-254-8779.) GOD OF CARNAGE The latest play by Yasmina Reza ("Art"), which opened in London last year, directed by Matthew Warchus. (Reviewed in this issue.) (Jacobs, 242 W. 45th St. 212-239-6200.) THE GOOD NEGRO At the Public, Liesl Tommy directs Tracey Scott Wilson's play. (Reviewed in this issue.) (425 Lafa- yette St. 212-967-7555.) GREEK HOLIDAY "Have you ever wanted somebody dead?" Debra (Sarah Knapp) asks her husband, Alex (Tommy Schrider), toward the cli- max of Mayo Simon's play, directed by Stephen Hollis. And, oh yes, both of these characters have entertained murderous fantasies about the other, fantasies that occasionally get played out before us. But the proceedings, set on a deserted Greek isle where the couple has gone to try to revive their failing marriage, never rise to the level of effective black com- edy. Alex expresses contrition and hu- miliation over his affair with Janet (Kath- leen McElfresh), seen in flashback, but what comes through most strongly is the playwright's loathing of both female characters. (Abingdon, 312 W. 36th St. 212-868-4444.) IMPRESSIONISM Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen star in this new play by Michael Jacobs, about the rela tionshi p between a photoj ourna- list and a gallery owner. Jack O'Brien directs. (Schoenfeld, 236 W. 45th St. 212-239-6200.) INCIDENT AT VICHY In Arthur Miller's 1964 play, set in France during the Second World War, ten men await inspection by German and French officials, unsure of why they've been de- tained. Their attempts to rationalize their presence become a heady exploration of guilt, fear, power, and complicity that, unfortunately, never quite transcends the realm of philosophical exercise. The Actors Company Theatre, whose explicit mission has always been to revive the lesser works of great playwrights, have given themselves quite a challenge with this strange little piece, which is receiv- ing its first New York production in twenty-eight years. As is typical of minor Miller, texture and true psychology are sacri- ficed in the name of rhetoric, and the end re- sults, despite the affecting historical context, are transparently didactic and, sadly, lifeless. The able cast tries its hardest and proof of Mil- ler's genius is scattered throughout the writing, but the work feels like no more than an allur- ing museum piece. (Beckett, 410 W. 42nd St. 212-279-4200.) 33 VARIATIONS A musicology lecture disguised as an intellectual detective story within an emotional melodrama, written and directed by Moisés Kaufman. "I need to know what he saw in this waltz," says the play's dogged shamus, Dr. Katherine Brandt (Jane Fonda), a classical-music scholar who is in a race to finish her monograph before she succumbs to a motor-neuron disease. Kaufman's scenes may be clumsy, but the interplay between the stories of Beethoven and Brandt is elegant. The excite- ment of Beethoven's visionary genius doesn't ex- tend to Kaufman's plot, however, whose simplis- tic shorthand is more televisionary. The play marks Fonda's return to the Broadway stage after forty- six years, but the role is no test of her emotional range. Her presence-with its curious amalgam of alertness and standoffishness-is a neat bit of typecasting; Fonda provides a sort of scaffolding of willpower and disdain that props up the am- I bitious Brandt. (3/23/09) (O'Neill, 230 W. 49th St. 212-239-6200.) .. .\ 1 \ , WEST SIDE STORY Arthur Laurents directs the 1957 Bernstein-Sond- heim-Robbins musical, for which he wrote the li- bretto. Matt Cavanaugh and Josefina Scaglione star. (Reviewed in this issue.) (Palace, Broadway at 47th St. 212-239-6200.) Also Playing ASTRONOME: A NIGHT AT THE OPERA: Onto- logical-Hysteric, St. Mark's In-the-Bowery, Sec- ond Ave. at 10th St. 212-352-3101. AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY: Music Box, 239 W. 45th St. 212-239-6200. AVENUE Q: Golden, 252 W. 45th ( I ( ( I í \ , j ,\f ,1Jj,' / \ ( , - t oJ ) , / 1" 1t 7' .'\\ I W r I ., t: "- 1'--4. / 'if \ St. 212-239-6200. BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL: Imperial, 249 W. 45th St. 212-239-6200. FIRE THROWS: 3LD Art &amp; Technology Center, 80 Greenwich St. 212-352-3101. Through March 28. GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS: Minetta Lane, 18 Minetta Lane. 212-307-4100. HEDDA GABLER: American Airlines Theatre, 227W. 42nd St. 212-719-1300. Through March 29. HEROES: Clurman, 410 W. 42nd St. 212-279-4200. HUMOR ABUSE: City Center Stage II, 131 W. 55th St. 212-581-1212. KASPAR HAUSER: Flea, 41 White St. 212-352-3101. Through March 28. OUR TOWN: Barrow Street Theatre, 27 Barrow St. 212-868-4444. RUINED: City Center Stage I, 131 W. 55th St. 212-581-1212. SHREK THE MUSICAL: Broadway Theatre, Broadway at 53rd St. 212-239- 6200. SOUTH PACIFIC: Vivian Beaumont, 150 W. 65th St. 212-239-6200. THAT PRETTY PRETTY; OR. THE RAPE PLAY: Rattlestick, 224 Waverly PL 212-868-4444. Through March 28. THE WID- OWING OF MRS. HOLROYD: Mint, 311 W. 43rd St. 212-315-0231. NIGHT LIFE R.OCK AND POP B. B. KING BLUES CLUB &amp; GRILL 237 W. 42nd St. (212-997-4144)-March 26: The blues-harmonica master James Cotton. BEACON THEATRE Broadway at 74th St. (800-745-3000)-March 26-28: The Allman Brothers, the Southern rock- ers from Macon, who, when they started out, in 1969, already seemed like battle-scarred veterans. Even after enduring periodic feuding, splinter groups, and devastating losses, these grizzled mid- night riders can still bring down the house. BOWERY BALLROOM 6 Delancey St. (212-533-2111)-March 25: Elvis Perkins in Dearland. The singer-songwriter Perkins, the son of the actor Anthony Perkins and the pho- tographer Berry Berenson, has a sensibility that's part folk and part pop. His début solo album, "Ash Wednesday," was a song cycle center- ing on the death of his mother, who was on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on Sep- tember 11,2001. He now has a proper band with a brass section and an organ player, and on their new self-titled re- lease they give a moving weight to his poignant world view. CANAL ROOM 285 West Broadway (212-941- 8100 )-March 26: Best known as the front man of Wall of Voodoo and the squawking voice on their hit sin- gle, "Mexican Radio," Stan Ridgway quit the seminal Los Angeles New Wave band in 1983 to pursue a solo career. Rife with noirish, deadpan narratives that fall midway between Johnny Cash and Mickey Spillane, Ridgway's solo work has retained his distinctive vocal style and oddball in- sights. He is currently on tour with a career-spanning show titled "Des- ert of Dreams: A Sandstorm of Song," and preparing a new album for re- lease this summer. CITY WINERY 143 Varick St. (212-608-0555)- March 27-28: Marianne Faithfull. Decades removed from her incarna- tion as a willowy flower child, Faith- full now sings in a rich, smoky voice that a baritone might admire, and her repertoire is just as deep. Her new record, "Easy Come, Easy Go," includes songs by Morrissey, Colin Meloy, of the Decemberists, Dolly Parton, and Brian Eno. FILLMORE NEW YORK AT IRVING PLAZA 17 Irving PI., at 15th St. (212-777- 6800)-March 30: The Hold Steady, the pride of Brooklyn, plays brilliant homespun rock and roll that could bring Bruce Springsteen to his knees (in fact, he's a fan). March 26: When she was young, P. J. Harvey sang in a band called Automatic Dlamini, which was put together by a guitarist named John Parish. That band didn't last long, but Harvey went on to become famous as a female savior of rock and roll. Parish, who staked out a successful career as a producer, helped out along the way, producing her 1995 album, "To Bring You My Love." A year later, the two released the collaborative album "Dance Hall at Louse Point," and they've been back in the stu- dio recently. Their latest effort, "A Woman a Man Walked By," comes out this week. JALOPY 315 Columbia St., Red Hook, Brooklyn (718- 395-3214)-March 31: On Danny Schmidt's new album, "Instead the Forest Rose to Sing," the songwriter and guitar-picker from Austin, Texas, ruminates about the meaning of money and wealth. His idiosyncratic, meticulously con- structed folk songs are infused with intellect and quirkiness. MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG 66 N. 6th St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn (718- 486-5400)-March 29: Primal Scream, argu- ably the quintessential British indie band. Never locked into one sound for too long, the mercu- rial Scottish collective has dabbled in riff-laden garage rock, trippy dance music, blistering punk, THE NEW YORKER, MARCH 30, 2009 9